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Mary Carr Mayle covers business in Savannah and the surrounding area. Follow her blog for the story behind the stories, Savannah’s business movers and shakers and what people are talking about.

Posted January 6, 2011 09:06 am

Gulfstream gets OK to fly higher over Canada

Savannah-based Gulfstream Aerospace has received approval from the Canadian government to operate the G450 and G350 business jets at their maximum cruise altitude of 45,000 feet.

Transport Canada, the federal department that makes most of the transportation policies for our neighbors to the north, normally restricts flight to 41,000 feet or below, unless special conditions have been met to ensure against rapid depressurization of the aircraft cabin.

In this case, the special condition is Gulfstream’s Automatic Emergency Descent Mode, which mitigates the risk of passenger injury due to rapid depressurization by automatically lowering the aircraft to the appropriate altitude. Should the pilots become incapacitated due to depressurization, the AEDM automatically turns the aircraft 90 degrees and lowers it to 15,000 feet (4,572 m) altitude and 250 knots air speed, allowing the flight crew to regain consciousness and assume control of the aircraft.

Gulfstream’s GV, G550 and G500 already are authorized by Transport Canada to fly at their maximum certified altitudes. The G550 and G500 were already approved to operate at 51,000 feet, because they are equipped with both AEDM and a secondary pressure bulkhead that can maintain cabin pressurization in the unlikely event of an uncontained engine failure.

Flying at higher altitudes allows aircraft to avoid traffic congestion and adverse weather. It also provides for more fuel-efficient operation.